Morning Mist
by NiDubhchair
Summary: The Cullens are enjoying their happy ending - until some mysterious enemies decide they don't want the Olympic coven on their turf. Can they survive intact this time? Chapters written from either Edward's, Bella's, or Jacob's POV. Please review!
1. Do You Have to Leave?

**Morning Mist** - _Edward, Bella, and the rest of the Cullens (+ Jacob) are enjoying their happy ending - until a mysterious rival coven decide they don't want "vegetarians" or "dog-lovers" on their turf. Can the family survive intact this time? Will they find a kidnapped Alice? And what's with the attackers looking identical? Chapter's from Bella's, Jacob's, and Edward's perspectives. Rated T for language/violence/torture. _

†††† BELLA CULLEN††††

"Dammit, Jacob, turn the TV down! I can't hear myself think!"

Edward and I were upstairs, packing for an extended hunting trip - and Brazil was one point away from winning the World Cup, by the _loud _sound of things - the minute that Rosalie decided she was finally going to kill Jacob. Edward looked at me, dark eyes sparkling in a way that always tricked me into thinking that my fluttering heart was still beating. He winked.

"Shall I save his life this time, or shall you?" He braced, ready to sprint downstairs - a trip that would take him maybe a millisecond - but I jumped in front of the door.

"Oh no you don't, it's my turn."

I closed my eyes and imagined Jacob in my mind, sitting shirtless on the couch, a handful of popcorn still in his mouth, staring with alarmed eyes as Rose's menacing figure stalked down the stairs. Renesmee would be playing with paper-dolls at his feet, a puzzled expression on her face as her favorite aunt moved to murder her favorite uncle. I pictured a shield, strong and impenetrable as diamonds, surrounding both of them. We heard Rose run into it full force and crash backward, leaving a dent in the dining-room table and destroying one of the chairs.

"BELLA! Not fair!"

"He's only my future son-in-law, Rosalie. Next time think before you move in for the kill," I said, still delighting - after almost a year - in the way she could hear me without my having to raise my voice.

"Alright, who made matchwood of my priceless antique dining set," said Esme, who, I guessed, was standing in the kitchen doorway, holding yet another plate of food for her favorite human.

"I'll buy you a new one, Mom," said Edward, grinning at me and shouldering his backpack. We usually didn't pack to go hunting - but it was polar bear season in Alaska and Edward was taking me there for our anniversary. He'd promised we'd taste some penguin and walrus; I'd made him swear not to touch the wolves.

"Your getting good at that," he said as we walked downstairs, hand in hand. "It's not everyone who can make a gift manifest on both mental and physical levels."

"Yeah . . ." We rounded the corner and found Rosalie primping in the hallway mirror - the fall had mussed her hair. "But it really only works for you and Jacob and Renesmee. And I have to really concentrate." I shuddered. "Wouldn't be much good in a . . . a situation . . . like last time."

Edward gave a low growl and instinctively drew me closer to him as he remembered facing down the Volturi in the baseball clearing, all those months before. "There won't ever be a next time. Ever. There's absolutely no reason for the Volturi to bother us again – and you, darling . . ." He brought my hands to his lips and kissed both of them. " . . . and I, _together_, could beat anything anyone else would dare throw at us."

Jacob looked our way, smiled a mouthful of mashed-potatoes, and continued to shovel through the plate of food Esme had fixed him. "Don't you think it's about time you and Rose made peace, Jacob?" I said, mussing his shaggy black hair.

"Aw, come-on, _mom_, put your cold hands somewhere else . . . you're making me smell bad." He wrinkled his nose and obligingly turned the TV down. "And give me some credit. I haven't told a blonde joke or been mean to Auntie Rose in nearly a month, right, Nessie?"

My daughter finished dressing her paper doll, looked up at the clock on the wall, and then at me with big, grave, gorgeous eyes. "My Jacob hasn't told a Mean to Auntie in 28 days, 4 hours, 12 minutes and 44 seconds." She got up, jumped over the couch and into my waiting arms. "I've been watching the clock. Jacob taught me!" Her eyes roamed over to Edward's and my backpacks and her expression grew even more serious. She held out a hand and pressed it to my cheek. _Do you have to leave?_

"Yes, Renesmee," said Edward, stroking the beautiful curls that looked so much like his. "Mommy and I need to go have some special time together. It only happens once a year that she and I get to celebrate how very, very much we love each other."

She frowned, and I saw in my mind Jacob trying to rock her to sleep, but failing because she was restless for us, for her mommy and daddy. _But don't you love all of us? Can't my Jacob and I come too? _Her thoughts shifted to the many happy days all four of us had spent hunting together. _You always let me come before_. For one moment I let her lonely fears become mine, and I nearly decided to pack her and Jacob along for the trip after all. Then I heard Edward sigh and chuckle beside me and I realized I was being just as silly as my one-year-old daughter.

"It's all right, Renesmee," I said, hugging her close. "We still love you just as much as we ever did. Jacob and Gramma Esme and Grampa Carlisle and Auntie Rose and Uncle Emmet will take very good care of you. I bet Uncle Emmet will even let you skip your bathtime! Won't that be fun?"

"It will go by so fast, you won't even remember to miss us," said Edward. "You can even count on the clock, and tell us exactly how long we were gone when we get back. Can you do that for daddy and mommy?"

Her thoughts were still dubious, and now I saw a memory of her kissing Alice and Jasper goodbye as they left on a similar trip, weeks ago. _That's what Auntie Alice said and they're not back yet either!_

"You worry too much," laughed Edward, "just like your mommy. None of us would ever let anything happen to you." He pulled us both into his strong embrace. "We'll be really close by, and if you really, really need us, Uncle Jacob can call us and we'll be back here almost before you could count on the clock. Now," he took her from my arms and placed her on the couch next to Jacob, "we really have to go before mommy gets soooo hungry she tries to eat Uncle Jacob. We love you, Renesmee! Be good!" He gave her one last kiss on the top of the head, mussed Jacob's hair just for good measure, then he took my hand and we flew out the back door.

We met Emmett in the forest about fifty miles north of Forks. We were walking at that point, holding hands, just enjoying being together and miles away from anyone who could wonder why my husband and I sparkled as we walked through the leaf-scattered sunlight. We smelled him before he actually came up to us, covered in hair and bear-blood and other badges of his particularly savage style of hunting.

"Well, if it isn't the indefatigable lovers," he crowed, trying to grab both of us in a bear hug but failing as Edward and I delicately avoided getting soiled. "We'll be so lonely without you – I'll never be able to get Nessie to take her bath or make her bed and I'll have to lose at least 10 chess matches before she'll be tired enough to sleep every night." He punched Edward in the arm and the rumbling sound of rocks colliding rolled across the surrounding glen. "I'm tired of this Uncle baby-sitting stuff – Alice and Jasper are sooo much better at it. Rose and Jacob and Mom and Dad are no help AT ALL, of course. They're gonna spoil that girl rotten."

"Don't whine, Emmett," said Edward, "it's unbecoming. Especially not about our daughter. Alice and Jasper are due back any day now, aren't they?"

Emmet shrugged. "How should I know? Don't tell me you haven't noticed Esme and Carlisle worrying about it. They usually don't go this long before checking in, right?"

"I'm guessing they just found the one mountain in the Andes that Jasper hasn't climbed yet, decided to take their time adventuring, and that's why our cell calls haven't gone through. As long as they're together, they're not much worth worrying over." Edward grabbed me around the waste. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some adventuring of our own to do."

I thought I had rarely seen Edward so exuberant as we sped through the trees together. It had take a little while for the years of anxiety and self-inflicted pain over me, Jacob, the Volturi and the whole pregnancy mess to fall away from him. Now I was sure I saw him as he was always meant to be: strong and glorious and fearless, perfect in every way. Quietly I swore to myself that he would never have reason to fear again.

How wrong I was.

Suddenly, we both sensed it: the distinct, sweetly-heavy smell of an unfamiliar vampire. Vampires. After a few seconds I was sure I could pull out at least seven separate scents. We slowed, and Edward drew me behind him: even with me now as relatively indestructible as he was, he still knew it was wise to use caution when outnumbered by strangers.

"Can you hear them?" I whispered, gathering in the sound of their light footfalls, their quick breathing, the crack of the occasional twig as they passed. They'd be within sight in moments. I looked over at Edward and was alarmed at the look of fury and fear on his face.

"No," he hissed, "I can't hear them. They must be using a shield similar to yours . . . I don't like this. Judging from sound and smell, they're all around us by now. Impossible to avoid meeting them."

"Why so worried," I asked, trying to dismiss his sudden shift of attitude as characteristic over-protectiveness. "We meet strangers all the time. It's not like I'm appetizing to them anymore."

"There's more than one reason why one vampire would want to hurt another," he said, sniffing the hair again. "It's the way they approached – silently, spread out – like a war-party. And . . ." he ran frustrated fingers through his hair, " . . . and I can't tell why. Just stay alert, and don't let them separate us. Oh, I don't like this at all."

We heard them speed up. Edward straightened, and called out warily, "Hello? We're sorry if we interrupted any hunting – I'm Edward Cullen, and this is my wife, Bella. We're only passing through . . ." His voice left off in a growl, for now we could see them: eight tall, lithe vampires with long dark hair and piercing eyes – like what might have been if the vampires had conquered the Quileute werewolves so long ago. I shuddered as one - who reminded me of Jacob in a twisted, grotesque fashion - eyed me with disdain. They never said anything, never slowing for a moment. They rushed at us, a noose tightening with cruel and accurate speed.


	2. My Worst Nightmare

~~~~EDWARD CULLEN~~~~

I couldn't believe my senses, consummate as I knew them to be. Here I was, assuming the safety of my wife and family was a given after so many months of doubt: and now I was alone in the woods getting charged by eight large and angry members of my own species. And I hadn't even, to my knowledge, had the opportunity to insult them or provoke them before the tried to rip my head off. Frustration and a great, deep fear washed over me: I hardly cared what happened to myself, but what about Bella? What if they followed our scent back to our family after they'd finished with us? And what the hell did they even want? The glaring silence from all eight minds was utterly disconcerting.

I didn't have time to think much more before Bella and I were fighting for our lives.

I'm sure a mortal would've seen nothing but a blur: an uncanny sandstorm in the middle of the Olympian rain-forest. But to me every millisecond, every inch of movement, ever block and parry and lunge of my and my wife's body was achingly prolonged. I let the pain and anger and fear feed the strength I knew I needed. The first one to reach me was young and stupid, drawing away from the others. His head was at my feet before a mortal could blink. That left seven. Behind me Bella was using the moves I and Emmett had taught her over the months, only in fun – she'd never had to fight for her life before as Emmett and I and Jasper had – but she seemed to be using them efficiently. I could tell at moments that she had thought a successful shield around us, but there were too many of them for her to be able to build the resolution and concentration needed for an impermeable barrier. I yanked the arm off of one attacker, kicked his knee the wrong direction, and sent him yelping. Two down. Bella snapped the neck of one while kicking another away. Only five left. Maybe we did have the chance to even it out.

But then I heard the sickening snap that vampire flesh makes when it is ripped away, and I heard my young wife gasp in pain. There was no way for me to tell how badly she was hurt, and it was foolish of me to break my concentration, even for a moment. But the love in my heart for her, my unquenchable desire for her safety, could not be properly subordinated to strategy. I turned, and had enough time to ascertain that it was only a small piece of her arm that had been torn, when I felt the both of them at my back. Before I could scream at her to run, for the love of all that was holy, to run away and save herself and our daughter and _live_, I felt a fire of agony travel through my back and shoulder as my left arm was forcefully separated from the rest of me, and then I could only scream. If it were possible for one of my kind to lose consciousness, I would have, but all I could do was swipe ineffectively with my right arm at the one who had wounded Bella. It was then I noted that they had succeeded in isolating us: three focused on me, while two circled her, growling, seeming to truly enjoy the pain and confusion and fear that rippled from us. "For God's sake, Bella, run!" I whispered, "You might at least catch up with Emmett!"

"Never!" she hissed back at me, and I heard another piece of her break away. A piece of my soul broke off with it, I was sure. I felt all my hope sink beneath a mantle of despair as I saw one of my attackers bring out a small silver object: I recognized it as a smaller version of the flame-thrower Caius had used to destroy Irina all those months ago. I kicked out at him just as he activated it: the flame caught my right leg, and I could feel even my marble skin crack with the heat. The venom beneath my skin crackled and smoked, threatening to combust. But the flame was not like Caius', not powerful enough to reduce me to instant ash. My kick followed through and knocked it from his hand. He stupidly bent to pick it up and my teeth connected with his neck. Now there were only two on my side. I could tell Bella had worked herself into a frenzy of hatred and passion: her two were having trouble keeping her in one place. But I knew it was only a matter of time before we lost. I tried to remember, to squeeze every precious moment of the past couple years into my last thoughts. Our first kiss. The moment Bella had realized how much I truly loved her. Bella in my arms on our honeymoon. Renesmee's tiny, perfect face. Jacob's loyalty and laughter. Alice's shopping sprees. Fighting with Emmett. Teasing Rosalie. Carlisle's wise face, Esme's kind eyes, Jasper's strong heart. Moments all too few and short. And there was nothing I could do.

Then I heard it, a sound I had appreciated too few times before: wolves growling. Before our assailants could truly apprehend what was happening, two huge, monstrous wolves, one black, one gray, leaped into our clearing. The black one bit the head off of one of Bella's surprised attackers in a matter of seconds. The remaining three took about a second to decide it was no longer worth it. They were gone as quickly as they'd come. The black wolf nodded at the grey one, who ran off in pursuit. The black wolf, who I immediately recognized as Sam Uley, chief of the Quileute werewolves, looked at me with strangely - for him – compassionate eyes. "Sam . . ." I managed. "Thank God." The pain in my shoulder and leg finally overwhelmed me, and I fell to the ground.

"Oh, Edward!" Bella was holding me tight enough to break ribs, I was sure.

"Shhh . . ." I said, holding her as well as I could with one arm, trying to ascertain her own injuries as she wept over mine. "Bella, how badly were you hurt," I asked firmly, touching the wound in her arm with a gentle hand and noticing, for the first time, the many bite marks that now marred her perfect skin.

"How positively ridiculous," she sobbed. "You always do more than your fair share, and you're always getting hurt because of it, and it's always my fault!!"

"Nonsense." I didn't feel the strength necessary to really argue with her, and that worried me. I turned to the wolf instead, "Thank you. I'll never be able to repay you."

_She's right, you know_, thought the still-wary wolf at our side. I could also hear Paul's exhilarated thoughts as he pursued the three strange vampires east, far away from us, Forks, and La Push, and the thoughts of three others in the pack as they raced to join him. I closed my eyes and thanked God for the whole smelly lot of them, right then and there.

_You need to get back to Forks, _thought Sam. _We've been tracking these guys all morning, and there're definitely more of them out there. If they're willing to just attack you two without warning, there's no telling what will happen if they're able to corner your family at home._

"Well," I said, "thanks for letting Jacob know. I'm sure we all could've used the warning."

_Sarcasm, sarcasm. It's hard to find a phone in the middle of woods. Jake and I _can_ only communicate when we're both in wolf form, remember? And, if I'm assuming correctly, he spent the morning watching the World Cup?"_

"Of course."

_Will you need any help getting back? I can escort you as far as you need._

I looked at Bella, who, I knew, was frantic with worry for me and annoyance at only hearing one side of the conversation. Frustration bit into my heart once again as I realized that I wouldn't be able to protect her if we were attacked on the way back.

"Yes, I think we will need the help as far as Forks, at least, my furry friend."

_Hah. Hah. Easy on the dog jabs, okay, bloodsucker? I did just save your cold, dead hide._

I nodded, and, with great reluctance, allowed my wife to carry me home, escorted by a werewolf.

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading, if you've gotten this far ;-) There are probably 3 or 4 more chapters to this story. I'm hoping to add every week or so (maybe more often if it sounds like people are desperate enough *hint-hint*). Tune in next time for: Alice's mysterious disappearance, a frantically worried Jasper, and Emmett swearing off werewolf jokes for good. :-)_


	3. Where's Alice?

†††† BELLA CULLEN ††††

Edward didn't feel like anything in my arms as I meteored my way back to the house, Sam staying alert beside me. Occasionally I could hear him whine and knew that he really didn't like being away from his pack at the moment. I tried not to think of the young ones, like Brady, or the foolish ones, like Paul, surrounded and alone, just as Edward and I had been. I fought the urge to go back and fight with them.

"Don't be an whimpering idiot, Bella," I thought to myself, glad that Edward could only read my mind when I let him. But he was getting too good at reading my face.

"Are you in pain," he asked. "You don't have to carry me. Sam could help me if I needed it."

"Don't be an utter ass, Edward. I can barely feel it. You, on the other hand . . ." I tried not too look at Edward's arm, which Sam was gingerly carrying - along with the two pieces which had been ripped off of me - in his mouth. I wondered how in the world Carlisle could treat a wound in skin that would break the strongest stitching needle on earth. Or how he could heal a burn made on stone.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you," he whispered. "None of those vampires will ever come within a mile of you again, I promise."

"Don't go making promises you can't keep. We have no idea how many there are, where they're going, or why they tried to kill us without even speaking a word first." I bit my lip and tried not to think of all the innocents that might potentially stand between me and the long-haired nightmares: Charlie, Angela, Mike, Jacob, Sam.

"Bella, your venom's gonna leave a scar if you bite much harder . . ." He was trying to be cheerful, but I could hear the stress in his voice, see the pain behind his smile. I ran faster.

I hoped beyond hope that Renesmee would not be the first to greet us. She'd gone through enough when the Volturi had come for her. I prayed that Jacob would be playing with her, near the house but far enough that I could get Edward to Carlisle before they noticed.

In answer to my prayers, Emmet met us while we were still a couple miles from the house. His eyes grew wide when he saw our condition, his expression alternating between extreme rage and extreme disappointment.

"Dammit, Edward, Bella? What the hell did I miss?" He rolled up his sleeves and looked around, as if he hoped our strange and silent attackers were just waiting for the right moment to step out and ask him to pulverize them. I found myself delighted that he hadn't been there. Rose would've killed me if something had happened to him.

"Something big, Emmett," said Edward, gently shifting himself out of my arms and wincing as he put weight on his leg. There were eight of them. I couldn't read their thoughts . . . they never even said anything. I'm sure they meant to kill us - and be cruel about it. We'd have been dead if Sam and Paul hadn't come along."

Emmett nodded at the wolf with appreciation. "I take back every werewolf joke I've ever told," he said as he put an arm around his brother.

"You'd better get back to your pack, Sam" said Edward, "Emmett can take it from here."

Edward filled him in on the attack, and Emmett grew more and more frustrated with his absence from the fight. Soon, however, he voiced the one concern that had been haunting all of us.

"Why didn't Alice see this coming? Could this have something to do with why . . ."

"I don't know," said Edward, gritting his teeth with each step. "More than likely she did see it coming . . . and something stopped her from getting us the information."

If I'd had a heart, it would've stopped. The thought of those monsters in the woods hurting Alice was like a devouring flame in my mind.

"Jasper wouldn't let anything happen to her, would he?" I whimpered.

"That's assuming he was there. That's assuming they didn't get him too."

"Dammit, those guys were good," growled Emmett. "They got to us when we were all separated. They knew when we were going to be separated and they got to us. Practically three of us down already, and we still have no idea how many of them there are, or where they are . . ."

My and Edwards' eyes widened at the realization of what that might mean. Renesmee, Jacob, Rose, and Esme were alone at the house. We all picked up speed as well we could, but as we turned down the drive, we were met with a sight none of us expected. Instead of mayhem, or the remains of a lost fight, we saw Jasper unloading Alice's huge suitcases from the back of her yellow Porshe. He turned immediately the minute he sensed the fear, frustration, and pain rippling off the three of us. He was at Edward's side in a moment.

"What happened? Is everyone alright? Is Alice alright?"

"Wait," said Edward. "You mean you don't know where Alice is _either_?"

"She's not here?!" Jasper's usually calm countenance became a mask of volatile fears. He was all of sudden speaking very fast. "She left me a note, yesterday, saying she'd seen something and needed to get back here as fast as she could. I followed . . . I figured I'd just find her here with you all."

"Alright, that's had it," said Emmett. "Time for a council of war."

Esme came out on the porch, having heard our urgent voices.

"Oh, my God, Edward! What happened! Come inside – I'll call Carlisle."

Before she could turn, I called out. "Wait, Esme! Where are Jacob and Nessie? I don't want her to see us like this."

"Jacob? He took Nessie out hunting an hour ago, just the two of them. They went southwest, I think."

Edward and I turned with desperate eyes to the two Cullen brothers that were still hale. Emmett and Jasper nodded, then took off into woods as if a whirlwind drove them. _"Save my daughter!"_ I shouted after them as they disappeared.


	4. I Promise

**** JACOB BLACK ****

It had to be some kind of cosmic conspiracy. Every time I thought my life deserved a little peace, a little quiet, a little folding of the hands – I found myself in situations like this. Surrounded by voracious vampires. Alone. In the woods. Accompanied by the only person in the world whom it would kill me to see hurt. At least I was basically _the_ strongest werewolf on the face of the planet. Pretty sure I was, that is.

I didn't phase as they approached, looking forward to giving the first one to charge a nice little gift: namely, the chance to get his face ripped off by yours truly. I swiveled. There were eight of them. All around us. Damn. So much for telling Nessie to run.

I knew that once I phased my pack would be alerted to the situation – but I had no way of knowing how long it would take them to get there. I shook my head. Seth would be so mad if he missed out. The feel of Nessie's hand gripping mine brought me back to more immediate concerns.

_Are they mommy and daddy's friends? They look mean._

"They are mean, Ness. Very mean. They want to hurt Uncle Jacob."

_That's mean! I won't let them! _She conveyed a vivid mental image: her, grabbing hold of one of them and biting his finger off.

"_Don't_ do that, Ness. If Uncle Jacob has to fight, I want you to grab on underneath me, alright, like you're giving me a big hug? That way I can protect you when I turn into a wolf."

_Alright_. One of the approaching fighters gave me a sharp, sick grin as he listened in on my desperate attempts to reassure her. Their approach was still slow, but steady.

"Nessie?"

_What, Uncle Jacob?_

"I need you to listen very carefully, and I need you obey me; the same way you would obey mommy or daddy or Grandma Esme. Do you promise?"

_I promise._

"If anything happens to me, Ness, I need you to try and run away back to Grandma Esme, okay? Can you do that? Don't look back, or try and bite any fingers off. Just run as far and as fast as you can."

_I don't want to leave you. You're my Jacob. They might hurt you._

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to either of us."

_Promise?_

"I promise."

_Jacob?_

"Yes, Ness?"

_I love you._

"I love you, too, Renesmee."

I gathered her up in a hug, told her to hang on and close her eyes, and then I phased.

I was true to my word. The first vampire to reach me had his rather surprised expression ripped right off his skull. Then it was seven of them, circling me, more cautiously, but close enough to lunge at any moment. The alarmed voices in my head made it slightly hard to concentrate. First came Sam, gruff and businesslike "_Jacob, where have you been? Get back to Forks as fast as you ca– oh, shit. We'll be there as fast as _we_ can._" Then Seth, "_Darnit, Jake, why the hell do you always get into fights when I'm not there?! Save some for me!!"_ Then Leah, "_Got it together, hotshot? Where are all your vamp friends now?"_

"_Shut up, Leah!"_ I growled to my pack-self. "_Can we save the teasing for after you've saved our lives?"_

"_Sure. Hold on."_

The inner image of the two packs racing to the rescue was comforting, and helped me focus. Then they were all on me at once. I felt some bones break as I beheaded a vamp with one snap and lunged past him to put my back to a large redwood. It hurt, but I was too pumped up to really figure where it hurt, or let it slow me down. The next one who tried to grab for me lost a hand. It went like that for a while, all with Nessie safely tucked into my chest. Lunge. Snap. Lunge. Snap. They would draw off every now and then, nursing their own wounds. Arrogant bloodsucker assholes. But I knew, strong as I was, it was only a matter of time before they got sick of playing with me. At least I'd gotten their numbers down to five.

_Will daddy come and save us?_

I attempted an encouraging bark, and then they were charging again. I didn't feel tired, didn't feel the pain of my wounds, but after another fifteen minutes my body refused to move the way I wanted it to. I couldn't bite enough places to keep them off. As I felt my right leg, hip, and some ribs snap, I knew I would lose. The packs would arrive too late.

_Jacob, they're hurting you! Let me help._

I could only bark in as negative a tone as I could manage, begging God that she would obey me, and escape.

_Hold on, Jacob! I'll go get Uncle Emmett! _

I felt her let go. She started to run, darting between one of their legs. But as the pain continued to build, and consciousness slipped away, I saw her hesitate for one moment to look back at me. It was all they needed to catch up with her. I heard myself howl as one of them picked her up by the arm and threw her into a tree. I didn't think anymore. I felt my body try to pick itself up, to lunge at the one who had done it, even as I felt my spine snap beneath one of their feet. I had failed . . . but my frenzy didn't stop. I clamped my jaws on one of their necks, convinced they'd have to cut me off the unlucky bastard after they'd killed me. I could only think of her: Ness, I'm so, so sorry. Sorry I broke my promise.

When I heard a deafening growl come from the north of us, and thought I caught Jasper's sweet, soothing scent, I was pretty sure it was only part of the dream which precedes death.

****

_Author's Note: Sorry the cliff-hanger, people ;-) I'm trying to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible, but I find that my Edward chapters are the most long-winded. He'll shut-up sometime soon and let me post, but it may be a couple more days ;-D I do find myself inspired by reviews . . ._


	5. Picking Up the Pieces

~~~~ EDWARD CULLEN ~~~~

Waiting was the worst kind of agony. Weakness, the worst form of torture. Never before had I felt so helpless.

As I watched my brothers go flying off after my daughter, after the boy who – after all our venom and rivalry – I had begun to see as a son and brother, I tried to run after them, disabled limbs and all. Bella and Esme, of course, held me back; and for all my growling, I knew I wasn't strong enough either to resist them or go to help Emmett and Jasper. I hung my head, defeated, and allowed myself to be helped inside, even as Rosalie ran off frantically to help her mate.

Carlisle arrived literally seconds after Esme called him. The pain was already beginning to ebb in my leg as I lay down on the couch with my head in Bella's lap, and I knew there was no jeopardy from leaving the arm until after more important priorities had been attended to; even if it did feel like thousands of glass shards were slowly being pressed into my shoulder. The idea of the same kind of pain affecting my wife was too much. "Carlisle," I said when he came in, "Please attend to Bella first. It's not like I'm in danger of bleeding to death."

_Edward, _I heard him think, _I know I'm not actually an expert in _vampire _medicine yet, but I really don't know if . . ._

"Dad. Please? I'm fine."

_Your wife's going to have something to say about that._

I saw Bella's mouth open to object, but I pressed my finger against her lips before she could say anything.

"Love, can we _not_ argue? Not now."

The fight left her, or, at least, the fight which concerned she and I. Behind her topaz eyes I could still see the same fire, the same rage that smoldered in mine, ignited by the thoughts we couldn't push away. If anything happened to our child, we both knew we would have no rest until those responsible were hunted down and made to beg for death. Neither of us, I think, resisted the primal whispers of the monsters within us at that moment. If Renesmee had been attacked, the attackers had forfeited any claim to humane punishment.

No one spoke as Carlisle treated Bella's wounds, washing them in an experimental regeneration-compound he'd been working on - created from his own venom - and reattaching the lost flesh with bandages. My hand gripped hers, and with her every hiss of stinging pain I knew I would've been willing to give all my limbs to keep from hearing that sound ever again. But my mind, hard as it tried, could not be completely there in the room with my wife. Half of it was far away in a forest clearing with my daughter. All four of us were tense with listening for anything that might give us news: a howl, a footstep, a human breath, the thrum of my Ness's heart.

"Your turn, son," said Carlisle gently, though I had been listening so intently I jumped to hear his voice. "Bella's wounds shouldn't take but a few hours to knit, based on what Jasper's told me. Reattaching your arm, on the other hand . . ." He went silent for Bella's sake.

_Edward, you might not be able to use it properly for weeks, at the least. Maybe sooner, if you're a good patient. Maybe much longer. I'm not sure. I'll put some of my compound on your leg, but by the looks of things it, at least, is doing a fairly proper job of healing itself._

I nodded. I didn't care if he told me I'd be crippled for eternity, if only I could get my little girl back. He fit my arm back where it belonged and held it there with a complicated system of slings and bandages. The glass-shard pains eased to a dull throb that matched the fearful pain in my empty chest. That was when I caught a stray thought – that is, many stray thoughts – galloping through the air.

The wolves were nearby. Jacob wasn't with them.

_Edward, I dunno if you're getting this, _came Sam's polite tone, _but those strays left over from that fight of yours met up with some others and headed in this direction. I had the packs spread out to protect Forks and LaPush, but then Jacob and . . . Jacob and Nessie got cornered. _

_Don't worry! _This time it was Seth. _We're almost there. They'll be okay! _But he had to repeat himself to sound convincing. _They'll be okay. _I couldn't ignore the flashes in Seth's mind of what Jacob was seeing and feeling. He was surrounded, and in pain. My daughter clung to him. I nearly choked with rage.

Sam spoke again. _His own pack went to help him. But the vamps we were following didn't go that way. They're headed for your house. We're almost there._

I sat up, growling involuntarily, and upsetting Carlisle's bag all over the floor.

"Edward? Is something wrong," he asked, pausing from his closer examination of my leg.

"Edward, what's happened? What did you hear?" Bella's tone was knowing and urgent.

"They're here. Go, Carlisle, there's not much more you can do for me. Get Esme and go help the wolves."

He knew by the expression on my face that things were past argument. Bella, raring for another fight but loyal to the last, stayed by my side as my parents left us alone in the house.

But this time there wasn't much of a battle to be missed. There were only six in this group of marauders, three of them bearing wounds from our previous encounter, and they faced a full pack of wolves and two seriously pissed vampires. I'd never seen Carlisle fight with that much fury, nor Esme with that much passion. The wolves, of course, had the time of their lives. The attack on the house never made it past the border of our lawn.

Only a quarter of an hour later it was all over, and I could hear Carlisle thinking at me. _Son, you'd better come look at this._ Bella and I made our way down to the edge of the backyard, where the wolves were busy collecting pieces of vampire and putting them in a pile to be burned. Some were limping, but none looked too much the worse for wear. Bella shuddered when she saw the remains of the fight.

"Bella," I said, "love, why don't you go help Esme get something ready for the wolves to eat; some of them look like they're going to need Carlisle after we're done here." It wasn't as if Esme actually ever needed help in the kitchen, but Bella needed to be distracted as much as I did at that moment. She squeezed my available hand and followed Esme inside.

I found Carlisle standing over two of the corpses, examining their decapitated heads. "Does their . . . resemblance seem odd to you," he asked, picking one up and comparing it closely to the one next to it.

I followed his gaze. He was right: the heads were identical, down to a scar above the right eye. Even their last, dying grimaces seemed similar.

"A case of vampire twins isn't that outlandish of an explanation," I conjectured.

"Yes, but, would twins have identical scars? If I wasn't holding them both right in front of me, I'd swear they were the same person. And look at the other heads the wolves gathered. They all look alike."

"Why didn't I notice it during the fight earlier," I wondered aloud.

_You perhaps had more important things on your mind . . . like, surviving?_

I took the head from him and threw it on the growing pile of quivering limbs. The discovery was probably important, if we were ever going to figure out the mystery of who these creeps were and why they had decided we were lawful prey, but at the moment there was only one thing I could allow myself to care about. I turned to Sam.

"Thank you again, Sam Uley. I owe you my life too many times to count"

_Don't mention it. If these assholes ever attack LaPush . . . you can pay us back then._

"Let's hope that doesn't happen." He saw the further question on my face, the one I was afraid to ask.

_He's unconscious, I think. Don't think he's dead . . . but since he's technically not aware of anything at the moment, it's hard for me to tell what's going on._

It wasn't what I wanted to hear. My inexorable sense of duty and hospitality was the only thing keeping me from curling up into a ball of anxious despair.

"Do any of your brothers need tending? Carlisle would be all too willing to fix them up, and I think Esme's cooking for you all. I have some clothes you could borrow, if need be."

Same wrinkled his nose, but also winked one large, wolfish eye. _Clothes won't be necessary, we carried them with us. We've been out running all day, so . . . I guess we could stand the smell long enough to choke down some food. And Brady could probably use some doctoring._

I looked over at the small, silver wolf. His back left leg was sticking out at an odd angle, but he looked alert and happy as he limped his way through the ferns, sniffing for more stray pieces of vampire-creep. He barked triumphantly when Carlisle moved to set their pile alight. The wolves began to back away from the – for them – unpleasant smell of the smoke.

"We'll let you guys phase in privacy," I said to Sam. "Come in when you're ready."

_Thanks – tell Esme it'll just be three of us: I'm gonna keep Paul and Jared out here to run patrol._

I nodded and turned to go inside, but at that moment I caught it: the scents and sounds I had been waiting for ever since Bella and I returned home. Emmett ,Jasper, Rose and Jacob's pack were speeding towards us, carrying a wolf – and my daughters strong, swift, beating heart could be heard above everything else. I caught Emmett's loud and boisterous thoughts first as I rushed toward them as quickly as I could manage.

_Golly, that was fun, _thought Emmett, _too bad Jake got so messed up._

Jasper knew I was probably listening in, so his thoughts were more too the point.

_She's fine, Edward, _he thought, _Well, she's basically fine._

Basically fine!!? I growled loud enough for him to hear.

_They broke her arm. She's being really brave about it – she mostly just wants to know if Jacob's gonna be alright._

Bella heard the roar I let out when I heard that. She came running out the back door just as the group came into sight. Her caring eyes took it all in, and she and I met them near the flaming bonfire.

"Aww, man," said Emmett, who was cradling Jacob's huge, broken body to his chest like he was a precious puppy, "this place reeks of dog."

"Look who's talking," said Rosalie.

Bella took Renesmee from Jasper with tender, trembling arms. My daughter nestled her head into her mother's chest, and I moved to embrace them both. To keep myself from breaking into an irrational rage when I saw how she cradled her left arm, I focused in on her beautiful, unique scent and her warm skin against mine. We stood there, just the three of us, for a long time, not saying anything.

Finally, she put her palm on Bella's cheek. I saw it all, the eight attackers, their bizarrely identical faces, their silent battle style. Jacob, fighting his big furry heart out. I felt her anger and fear as her guardian succumbed to their cruel blows, her pain when they picked her up and broke her like an old doll. She remembered her heart speeding with relief as she saw Emmett and Jasper and Rosalie ripping through the circle of tormentors. She remembered the attackers growling with anger and surprise. She remembered Rose picking her up, her uncles calling for her to cover her eyes, and the ripping noises that came afterward. Bella held her tight, trying not to cry.

_Where's my Jacob? _Renesmee's thoughts flew back to Emmett gathering up Jacob's still form. I could tell, even under his heavy fur, that many, many bones had been crushed. _Where did they take him, daddy? Will Grandpa be able to fix him? _Then she looked me and Bella up and down, and frowned. _Did the Mean Ones hurt mommy and daddy too?!_

"It's all right, Renesmee," said Bella, stroking her baby's hair. "Daddy made all the Mean Ones go away, and then Grandpa Carlisle made our boo-boos all better. And we're going to go see him right now, okay, sweetie? Does your arm hurt?"

Ness nodded solemnly.

When we got to the house, the two werewolf packs were sitting around the TV, scarfing down huge bowls of chili. A couple half-devoured loaves of cornbread were lying on the floor between them. I shook my head – Esme really was a miracle in the kitchen. My mind was suddenly crowded with enthusiastic werewolf thoughts, though over it all I could hear Rose complaining: _The whole damn house is going to smell for days!!!_ Jacob's pack seemed slightly more subdued than the rest, more because they were worried about their alpha or because they had missed out on an awesome fight, it was hard to tell. Brady, sporting a knee-to-ankle brace, was laughing his head off with Collin. They seemed to be comparing scars and bruises. Bella, as usual, bit her lip remorsefully when she saw this.

Sam looked up at me. _We just got him to phase back into human form. Carlisle and the big one took him upstairs. He's awake, at least._

I whispered in Bella's ear, "I'm going to go check on him. Why don't you stay down here with Ness until Carlisle can look her over?"

I knew Bella would want to see him right away. But I also knew that I didn't want her or Nessie seeing him at the moment. I had enough trauma on my hands as it was. I silenced her objection with a look, gave Ness a kiss on the forehead, and limped up the stairs.

Carlisle had Jacob laid out on the hospital bed which had last been used when Bella was pregnant. He was awake, but his eyes were glassy, his teeth clenched together to keep from screaming or – if I knew him – gushing profanities. His thoughts were stubbornly focused on one mental image: my daughter, safe in her mother's arms. Carlisle had already placed both legs in braces, and was now examining his ribs and chest, so focused on his task that he didn't even look up when I came in. I moved to the side of the bed.

"Jacob?"

His pain glazed eyes turned my direction and he tried to smile – but I wasn't fooled for a moment. "How are you?"

"Been better, Cullen . . . AawOw dammit!!!" Carlisle had re-broken and set a rib while he'd been distracted.

"Sorry, Jake," said Carlisle. He looked at me, "I didn't realize my morphine stash was so low. Jasper went to go get some more at the hospital, but as of now, I don't have enough to keep him sedated . . . and I don't have any time to wait before his bones meld in the wrong directions. I'm saving his spine until we can get more painkillers in him, . . . Right now I'm just thanking his guardian angel that werewolves don't suffer much from internal bleeding, or he'd be dead already."

"How's Nessie," Jacob whispered.

"She's mostly just worried about you. Her arm's broken, but its not something Carlisle can't fix."

"I'm almost . . . almost sorry Emmett and Jasper killed the bastards who did that – didn't leave any for me."

"I wouldn't be too disappointed – we don't know how many there are. They may be back. Let's just . . ." I tested my left shoulder, flexing it until my body filed a fiery protest to the action. "Let's just hope they leave us a couple of days before they try again. We're gonna need you. If it hadn't been for the packs today, we might all be dead."

"Hah. Well, here's hoping. But judging by the way I feel at the moment: Dr. Fang's gonna have me in a full body cast for a month…"

Right then Jasper got back with the morphine, and in a few minutes Jacob drifted into a grateful sleep. I watched Emmett and Jasper assist Carlisle in the delicate matters of the broken back, sternum, and pelvis, wondering which I wanted more – to be able to help, or to be in the bed instead of him. If there had been any way for us to trade places, I would have. The fact that all three of them kept asking me for the details of my morning fight made it all the more troubling.

When they were finished, Carlisle looked up at me. _Four patients down, one to go. Sorry we had to save her 'til last._

"She's brave, just like her mother," I replied, turning to Emmett and Jasper. "I never got to thank you guys –"

Emmett waved a hand dismissively. "Don't bother – I've been aching for an excuse to pulverize something bigger than Jasper for months now."

"Yeah," said Jasper, his face and body tense with the personal fears that we hadn't had time to address yet. "Needed to kill something. Might as well be a crazy, child-assaulting murderous freak . . ."

We all went downstairs, where we found the werewolves getting ready to leave. "The elders are going nuts at the moment," said Sam, looking at me. "Billy might actually come down here – over the phone he sounded like he wanted to have Jacob moved back home, but I told him it wasn't gonna be possible for at least a couple more days. Is that about right, Doc?"

Carlisle nodded. "Tell Mr. Black we're happy to care for him here for as long as he needs it, which may be longer than he or Billy would like . . ."

"Right. Will do. We've gotta get back, but I'll leave a couple of my guys on the perimeter until further notice if that's alright with you."

Quick arrangements were made for shared-watches and consistent communication – never was I more grateful for the better ties we had with the packs, thanks to Jacob – then the noisy crowd of shape-shifters left and the house was full only with the stillness and silence of vampires deep in thought.

"Alright, Renesmee, let's take a look at you," said Carlisle. My daughter was curled up on Bella's chest, who sat on the couch, biting her lip and staring out the window as she absent-mindedly stroked Ness's hair. Ness looked at me as she held out her arm to her grandfather.

_Is my Jacob alright? Mommy won't let me go upstairs._

"He's going to be fine, Nessie. Now sit very still while Grandpa looks at your arm."

I sat next to them and held Renesmee's hand during the whole examination, trying to ignore my father's mentally-supplied details of the injury: _How very interesting – her tissue density is somewhere between a werewolf's and a vampire's. Our kind is probably the only thing in the world strong enough to inflict this kind of break. Should heal fast enough; too bad I don't have any braces on hand that will fit . . . have to put her in plaster. . .._

I squeezed her hand. "Grandpa thinks he'll have to put a nice colorful cast on your arm, Ness."

_The kind you can draw on?_

"Yeah, the kind you can draw on. We're going to draw pretty pictures _all_ over it."

_Will my Jacob draw on it?_

"I'm sure he will, Ness. I'm sure he will."

Carlisle finished setting the bone, and put it in plaster. Renesmee fell asleep soon after, unable to keep her eyes open; though she kept insisting on seeing Jacob as she drifted off. When we were sure she was dead asleep, Jasper brought up the subject we'd all been putting off.

"Who were they, and do they have anything to do with Alice's disappearance?"

"It's all too convenient for them for it _not_ to be connected," I said. "Frankly, I'm surprised you're still here, Jasper, considering."

"After what I saw today . . ." he shook his head, and I could hear the same helpless tone in his thoughts that I'd been experiencing since the attack on Bella and I. "It would be foolish of me to go alone, no matter how good a fighter I am."

"Why the hell haven't we heard a hint of them, though," said Emmett, punching his fist into his other hand. "I mean . . . there were what, at least 19 that we met today?"

"How in the world did that many vampires manage to coordinate," said Esme. "Or even live together long enough to develop . . . such a coordinated fighting style?"

"It _is_ possible," whispered Jasper. "But that it's possible and we never received even a _whisper_ of warning? That's what scares me."

"They had one downfall," said Carlisle, looking at Renesmee as she slept. "They underestimated our alliance with the wolf packs in LaPush."

"Their plan seemed organized in such a way . . ." Jasper rubbed his knuckles on his forehead. The thoughts were flying through his head so fast I could barely read them. "It was like the packs hadn't even entered into their thoughts at all."

Bella's eyes all of the sudden went wide, and she looked at me. "Alice!" she hissed.

"What is it, love?" I asked.

"They're using Alice. That's why they didn't see the wolves. That's why they didn't figure them into their attack."

"But even if they could read Alice's mind," said Rosalie, "She'd never let her thoughts help them once she knew what they wanted."

"She'd translate the Bible into every conceivable language first," I said.

"Maybe she didn't have a choice," said Jasper grimly.

"Wait," said Carlisle, standing up. "She did have a choice. And there still wasn't anything she could do."

"What do you mean, dad," asked Emmett. I answered for Carlisle, amazed and troubled by my father's sudden explanation.

"They weren't using her mind," I said. "They were using her _power._"

_Author's Note: Yeah, wow, long chapter. Hope y'all didn't get too bored: Edward just wouldn't shut up in my head. Hope I got the names/details of the packs right (don't have any of the books for handy reference at the moment). I know some of my medical explanations might not be considered Canon, but I did my best to stay believable at least. Stay tuned for: another Bella chapter, in which our intrepid un-dead heroes attempt to solve the mystery of their attackers and rescue Alice!! Yeah, all you Jake fans out there, I wanted it to be another Jake chapter too, but since he's kinda bed-ridden at the moment . . ._


	6. Not My Fault

**Chapter 6: Not My Fault**

†††† BELLA CULLEN ††††

I hated this. I hated the sitting and waiting, the talking, the planning. The fact that we were all blind without Alice. The fact that my flawless husband was wearing a sling, my daughter was in a cast, and my best friend was upstairs, competing for the prestigious title of First Man to Survive Getting Practically All His Bones Broken, a feat that put even my old human-self to shame.

And, mostly, I hated when Edward and Carlisle looked at each other like that.

"Edward, we can't read your mind!" I snapped, "What in the world do you mean?!"

He reached out and grabbed my hand, drawing Renesmée and I closer to his side. "Love," he said, gently, playing with my hair and completely disarming me with his eyes, "what was the first thing I noticed about our attackers this morning?"

"They approached . . . like warriors."

"And beside that?"

"You couldn't hear them. Couldn't hear their thoughts. Like they were using a shield . . . similar to mine."

"Exactly," said Carlisle. "And you both fought with such passion that you didn't consider the other reason why they gained such an quick upper-hand: they were also using Edward's power. They were reading your minds as you fought."

Emmett looked confused. "But they certainly didn't hear or sense us coming when Jazz and Rose and I caught them this afternoon."

"I don't think its something they can co-opt permanently" said Carlisle, beginning to pace the length of the room. "They probably have to be within a certain radius of the person whose power they're using."

"So, if they'd had a reason to use my power," said Jasper, "they would have?"

"Not that we gave them that much time to come up with reasons" chuckled Emmett.

"They must be having trouble with Alice," said Edward with a careful glance at Jasper. "They didn't estimate how useless her power would be to them, what with the proximity of the wolf packs. The only thing they could really do with her would be . . . preventing her from warning us."

Jasper was unable to sit still any longer. He jumped up, nearly putting a hole in the ceiling. "But, dammit," he growled, moderating his tone only when his frantic eyes came to rest on Renesmée's sleeping form, "why didn't she warn us earlier? Something this big . . . she should've seen it weeks ago. But she only disappeared yesterday!"

"They must be well enough acquainted with her skills to have known not to make a final decision until the last minute," said Esme glumly.

"Still doesn't make sense." Jasper was sticking to his guns. "She would've seen flashes of _something_."

"I just don't understand how in the world 20-plus vampires ended up with the same power," said Rosalie, going to sit on Emmett's lap. "At least Em and I don't have any 'gifts' to manipulate," she finished under her breath. Edward smiled grimly at her, and I guessed she was imagining herself and Emmett standing proudly on a ravaged pile of former vampires.

We were all silent, each of us chewing through hundreds of theories and possibilities as time slipped by. It could've been minutes or hours before Carlisle spoke again.

"We don't have to figure everything out right now . . . one way or another, our next step has to be rescuing Alice. Jasper," he turned to his son, who was now staring out the window, "when and where did you last see her?"

Jasper swallowed. His own anxiety was spreading like a disease through the room: his power was definitely back-firing. "Yesterday morning in Cuzco, Peru. We were . . . shopping in one of the local markets. I slipped away to buy her something she wanted – a necklace. I went back to try and find her, but she . . . she wasn't anywhere to be found." He sighed, shoulders sagging. I'd never seen him look so defeated. "I figured she'd gone back to our hotel. But when I got there, all I found was this note." He pulled a painstakingly folded scrap of paper from the leather wristband he wore on his right wrist. Alice's neat, feminine script was evident across it.

"Damn!" said Emmett. "If she disappeared in Peru . . . she could be anywhere!"

Jasper snapped. The pane of glass in front of him shattered and he disappeared into the evening gloom.

"Thanks, Emmett," said Edward. "That was . . . helpful." He turned to Esme, who looked like she was debating whether or not to go after her second-newest family member. "Don't worry, Mom. He's not planning on going far. Maybe we should –"

But the sound of breaking glass had woken Renesmée. She lifted her head off my chest and looked around sleepily. Everyone in the room automatically attempted to sooth and regulate their expressions, but her eyes caught the broken window right away.

"Mommy, who busted the window? Did Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper break the rules and fight inside?"

Edward, one-armed as he was, took her from my grasp and snuggled her close to him. "No, sweetheart," he said. "Nobody broke any rules. It was an accident."

Her eyes became, I'm sure, what mine used to look like when I was suddenly afraid. She looked around at the six of us – all desperately trying to appear normal – and whispered, "Did the Mean Ones do it?"

"No!" said Edward as he and I instinctively snuggled closer to her, and for a few moments my own guilt became a raging monster within. "The Mean Ones are never, ever going to hurt you again, Ness."

She raised a doubtful eyebrow – truly her mother's daughter. "Where's Jacob? Can I see him yet?"

Edward looked at Carlisle, and some consideration passed between the two minds. I saw my father-in-law shake his head oh-so-slightly, then he came over to rumple Renesmée's hair.

"Jacob's still resting, Renesmée." Like a good doctor, he got down on one knee and looked her in the eye. "He'll be ready to see you in the morning, all right? You need your rest, too." Carlisle looked pointedly at Edward again. I really did hate it when they did that.

"Come on," said Edward. "There's nothing much more we can do tonight, besides try and figure out if Alice left Peru, and if so, where she went. Airline and border records shouldn't be that hard to hack, right, Rosalie?"

Rosalie just got up and walked upstairs in answer, Emmett following. I heard the computer in her room purr to life. Carlisle took out his cell phone and pursed his lips, no doubt considering which of his diplomatic contacts might be awake at this hour. Edward handed Nessie's already-drooping form to me, then took my hand, and started to lead me back to our cottage.

I hadn't realized how desperate I had been to be alone with him until that moment. His scent mixed with the heady evening air, each differentiated molecule of his essence precious to me. To think I had almost lost this – it was too horrible to imagine. I laid my head on his shoulder, and his hand moved around my waste. I took another deep breath – and an unpleasant, hot and musty smell interrupted it.

"It's Seth," said Edward, laughing to himself. "He's anxious about us, I think."

When we got to the door of the cottage, the gangly, brown wolf was waiting on the stoop. His eager bark welcomed us home. I dared something I never would've done as a human: I brought my hand within inches of his lethal teeth and petted the top of his nose. "Aw, Edward, can we _keep_ him?" Seth only growled a little at my jest.

"He's here to apologize for not getting there in time to keep Nessie from getting hurt," said Edward.

"Oh, Seth," I said, rubbing between his ears, "don't you dare feel bad." I felt guilty enough about the day's events. I didn't need other people carrying the same feelings around. "Everybody did the best they possibly could."

Edward smirked – his signature side-ways grin – and answered for Seth, "Well, he says he'll be up all night making sure it doesn't happen again . . . as will I. Now go away, you're stinking up my house." Edward gave a brotherly wink to the wolf, then edged passed him to open the door for me and Renesmée.

We tucked our daughter in, and Edward tried to pull me toward our room, but I wouldn't budge from Renesmée's bedside. "I don't want to leave her," I whispered.

He wrapped his good arm around me, and we just stood there, gazing at our daughter, who looked so small and vulnerable underneath the covers – her cast-bound arm splayed out awkwardly beside her. The moonlight streamed through her window and danced on her bronze curls and glittering skin.

She was so beautiful. I couldn't bare the thought of losing her. I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the horror of what might have happened if Emmett and Jasper had arrived too late: Edward and I surely would have traveled to Volterra together. Edward must have felt me shudder, because his grip tightened fiercely.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry you had to go through something like this again."

"Don't," I said. "Please don't. I just wish . . . wish we knew why."

"Shhhh," He pressed his face into my hair and inhaled deeply. "Stop looking for a reason to blame yourself."

I turned around and looked up into his eyes. Perhaps I expected to see fear, or accusation, or at least to see the helplessness that pulsed through my own thoughts; but instead I saw only determination, and courage, and a fierce, fierce love.

"We're going to fight this," he said. "They're not just after you this time, Bella. They came for all of us. And its all of us they'll get – faster and more painfully than they ever expected."

"But what if –" Of course he wouldn't let me finish.

"Nonsense," he said. "We _will_ defeat them, if we have to spend the next century fighting. I swear on everything I ever held dear: our daughter will never have reason to fear them again."

He realized right away that the century remark was perhaps a mistake. I buried my face in his chest, engulfing my senses in his strong, passionate scent to sooth myself. A sob or two broke out of my throat.

"Shhhh." He rocked me back and forth as though I were a child – which I was, compared to him. He hummed my lullaby until I calmed down a little. Then he tipped my face up to him and grinned down at me.

"Now, you're not going to do anything ridiculously Bella-esque this time, right? No running off and offering your life in exchange for Alice's. No Third-Wife nonsense, darling, please?"

I growled, but only a little. In that instant, I realized how completely I had come to trust him. "I promise," I said. "I believe your promise Edward. And you can believe mine: I'll stand next to you until this menace is erased, or it erases us. No more hogging the heroics this time around, right?"

He only smiled, and nodded towards our bedroom. I smiled back, and this time I didn't resist as he pulled me to our bed.

††††

The next day found all of us assembled again. Renesmée sat on Rosalie's lap, reluctantly eating oatmeal – none of us dared take her out to hunt again – while Esme sketched gorgeous art-noveau designs on her cast and Emmett drew a stick-figure of a wolf devouring a long-haired vampire on the same. Jasper and Edward were huddled close around Carlisle, who was on the phone with some Peruvian official. There seemed little for me to do yet, so, of course, I did what Edward had been trying to keep me from doing all morning: I snuck upstairs to see Jacob.

He was sleeping, his huge frame overflowing the bed, augmented by what seemed like dozens of braces and slings. His face was pale, and his breathing too shallow as his lungs struggled against his shattered midsection. His right hand looked to be the only thing that wasn't braced or bound up, so I took it in mine and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

His eyes fluttered open, and took a little while to focus on mine. When they did, he tried to smile, though it turned into more of a grimace as his awakening body tried to move one millimeter too far.

"Gosh, Bells," his voice was a harsh whisper, "You look like somebody died." He looked just slightly panicked when he realized that he didn't actually know what had transpired while he was unconscious. "Nobody _did_ die, right?"

I tried to smile back at him, but I have a feeling I was as unsuccessful as he had been. "Everyone's alright - thanks to you, you big, over-brave _beast._"

"Nice to know I'm appreciated. How long have I been out?"

"Fifteen hours or so . . . I don't think you're even supposed to be awake yet. Carlisle wanted to keep you as sedated as possible until your bones heal up better."

Something resembling a laugh escaped his lips. "Tell the Doc I'd really rather save the morphine addiction for another day . . ." His laugh turned into an excruciating cough.

I squeezed his hand, my own insides twisting with guilt at his condition. "Aw, Jake, I'm so sorry." But he hated sympathy, and, of course, attempted to change the subject.

"Nessie's alright?"

"She's just fine. She's downstairs getting a cutting-edge cast designed by the one-and-only Esme Cullen. I . . . I don't want her to see you until you're a little bit better."

"Understandable . . . I wouldn't want to see me either." He took a curious sniff of the air. "Has my dad been here?"

"Not yet. I think he's maybe planning a visit this afternoon, with your pack along, of course, for moral support."

"Even after all this time," Jake seemed regretful, "this place still gives him the heebie-jeebies." He looked past me and I realized that Edward had snuck up on us.  
"And how's our veterinary patient this morning" asked Edward, moving past to do doctor's-assistant things like check Jacob's pulse.

"As ornery as ever, Cullen," said Jacob. He looked at my husband's arm, still in a sling. "What about you? What's it like being de-limbed?"

"For a vampire? Probably about as painful as that shattered femur of yours . . ."

I winced. Why did men always talk about this kind of thing as if they were discussing football scores?

"Did you figure out who they were? The long haired creeps," asked Jacob.

"Not really," said Edward, preparing another morphine drip while Jake looked on dubiously. "We figured out that they can co-opt the vampire powers of any vampire who's within a certain distance, but we're having trouble –"

"Wait," said Jake, sitting up as well as he could, his eyes growing wide. "Co-opt vampire powers? Like Ness's power?"

"Perhaps," said Edward, stopping his work and staring intently into Jake's thoughts.

"Huh," said Jacob, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Huh," said Edward, unhooking the morphine drip he'd just plugged in.

"What?!" I put my hands on my hips and glared at both of them.

"When I was fighting them . . ." Jacob began. I could tell he wasn't enjoying the memory. "I wasn't thinking much, you know, about images flashing through my head . . . unless they had, you know, Nessie's tenor. And its not like the attackers were, um, using their palms much. Mostly, you know, fists . . . elbows . . . feet . . ."

Edward cleared his throat, and I realized I must have looked horrified.

"Um, sorry," Jacob continued, "anyway. For a split second, two of them tried grabbing with their open hands, at the same time. And if they were using Ness's power, and weren't being careful . . . I saw their thoughts. Except they were both thinking the _exact_ same thing: there was one vampire – who looked exactly like the rest of them – sitting in a room. With Alice." He tried to relax back into his pillow and smirked. "And, boy, did she look pissed."

Edward pulled up a chair. "We need to know everything you saw . . . any tiny detail could help us."

Jacob closed his eyes, fighting a spasm of pain as he muttered, "Good thing you stopped that morphine then, eh? . . . There was a window, behind the strange vampire. It was day."

"That rules out about fourteen time zones – helpful."

"It was cloudy. They were up high . . . I saw a sky-scraper outside."

"_Anything _else? Any details?"

"There was a reflection on the opposite building . . . a sign: 'Pattinson, Stewart, Rathbone & Sons.'"

Edward ran his fingers through his hair. "That's a pretty extensive firm. They have offices in nearly all the major cities in the US."

"Sorry, that's all I've got."

"Well," I said, squeezing Jake's hand, "at least that's narrowed it down to large cities in this country. A lot smaller a search radius than we had last night."

"Bella's right," said Edward, going to re-plug Jake's morphine drip. "This does limit the search considerably. Thank you. Now get some rest – maybe you'll heal up in time to help us catch these bastards."

"My pleasure, Cullen." His eyes began to droop, but I thought of one more thing I wanted to ask.

"Wait, Jake!" I squeezed his hand again, and his eyes opened. "Alice. Was she alright?"

He nodded, only half-conscious at this point. He struggled against the medication for a few seconds, whispering just loud enough for me to hear, "A cage . . . electrified cage . . . she's furious . . . and hungry."

A loud snore announced that Jacob Black was once again dead to the world.


	7. Keeping My Word

**Morning Mist 7: Keeping My Word**

**** JACOB BLACK ****

I was so close – so close I could feel it. Every tortured bone and ligament was slowly finishing up the healing process. And I was gonna be damned if they tried to keep me out of the fight we all knew was coming. Still, the living corpse who called himself a doctor insisted that I stay in bed and let my tissues or whatever recuperate for at least two more days. And they were all leaving that night. Without me.

The hell they were.

I knew there was no way I could keep my plans from Edward, insufferable sneak that he was. My only hope was that, a.) he might have sympathy, or b.) he just wouldn't be in the mood to fight. 'Cause it was a really dumb reason to have to hurt him.

It had been almost two weeks since the initial attack. My pack, in Leah's capable hands, had discovered ten more of our nasty little friends, patrolling the wilderness near the Oregon border. Since they didn't seem to be doing anything but guarding the way south, we hadn't engaged them. Instead, the Cullens had set the packs on watch duty, then used the time to pull in every favor ever owed them by any of their vamp friends, in order to search for that particular mouthful of a firm and prepare for the final showdown.

Finally, just when we all thought Jasper was gonna flee and go looking by himself, we found them. Peter and Charlotte, two of Jasper's bloodthirsty old contacts, had spotted a vampire matching the description of our attackers walking the streets of Portland, and had followed him to a building matching the description of the one I'd seen. They'd even followed him up to his lair and heard Alice screaming apropos insults at the four or five guards that kept an eye on her.

So, since it was my fine memory that had helped them find the creeps in the first place, there was absolutely no way they were leaving without me.

I played the Perfect Patient for the last couple days leading up to things. I jumped when Carlisle said jump, ate what and when he said, slept when he said, and spent the rest of the time giving everybody my best puppy-dog eyes – which, Bella tells me, are the consummate sympathy device.

The morning before the big assault was planned, Bella and Nessie were sitting up with me. Bella was knitting a blanket for Ness, her fingers moving much faster than even my wolf eyes could follow. Occasionally she would look up at my still – apparently – bedridden form, bite her lip, attempt a smile, than attack her knitting like it had gravely insulted her. I sighed – I thought maybe once she'd been a vampire for a while she would leave behind her whole irrational guilt issue. I guess not.

Renesmée, of course, held more of my attention. She sat next to me on the bed, very carefully penning-in a Disney Princess's coloring book. Every choice of color was a painstaking process, four or five pens held up for my inspection and approval before each section could be filled-in. She took a whole forty-five minutes coming up with a artistic concept compatible with magic-markers for making the princesses "go sparkly" if they were pictured outside – being raised as she was, she assumed that all beautiful women did this. Her precision, her attention to detail, her solemn-yet-playful demeanor captivated me.

It's hard to explain imprinting to those who have never experienced it. All I can say is, if she had wanted to continue sitting there coloring in pictures of Sleeping Beauty for the rest of my natural life, I would've stayed right next to her and enjoyed myself the entire time. I couldn't imagine anything or anyone in the world more important, more beautiful, and more worth protecting than her.

Which was why I hoped her parents would understand if I left her with my wolf pack and went to fight alongside them when the time came.

As my luck would have it, I let this thought run through my head right as Edward came up to visit the most important women in _his_ life. He arched an eyebrow at me, then said something which gave me hope that he might just feel like helping me after all.

"Bella, er, Esme is downstairs re-arranging the furniture again." She always did that when she was nervous about something. "She could use your help and advice, I think. Rosalie just keeps getting testy."  
"Sure, Edward." She put her knitting aside and hurried downstairs to help her mother-in-law. Nessie was completely absorbed in picking the right skin-tone for Prince Charming at that moment, but all Edward had to do was whisper in her ear and she toddled off after her mother.

He began, as usual, with a half-insult. "You do realize you're insane?"

"No crazier than the seven of you – outnumbered two-to-one on strange turf against vampires that can use all your combined strengths against you."

"It must be pretty important to you if you're willing to leave Ness behind to do it."

"I've promised the same thing you have, Cullen." He could tell that I had him on that one.

"Besides," I went on, "one of their most powerful assets is Alice's power. If I show up, it might confuse things just enough to give you all the advantage."

"True."

"I still don't understand how you're thinking to get around that. I mean – they _must _already know you're coming."

Edward growled slightly. "At this point, we don't give a damn what they know. We're coming for my sister, and we're coming to kill them, whether we die trying or not."

This time I was the one who raised my eyebrows. He read the thought behind them and answered me after a short silence.

"Yeah, I am willing to risk it. What kind of world would it be for Ness if we just had to keep running from these freaks every time they show up? They have to be eliminated . . . And _no_, we're not bringing the Volturi into it. They can come and clean up after us if we fail – but there's no way I'm voluntarily bringing them within a day's run of my family again."

"And if you do fail?"

He frowned. I could tell this deeply troubled him, but it did not shake his resolve. "If we fail, then I'm trusting the packs with Ness's life. I know they could get her someplace where its safe . . . Which is why I would _prefer_ for you to stay behind. You are Renesmée's destined protector and mate. How can I let you risk your life when she still needs you?"

A glare from me was all he needed.

"Alright . . ." he said finally, with a reluctant smile. "I know better than to argue when you're like this. We're leaving at dawn. Sam's pack is gonna help us run down the ten waiting in the woods south of here. I suggest you try and catch us up during the confusion of that fight – my family won't notice an extra wolf or so. Then, by the time we make it to Portland, it'll be too late to send you home." He glanced at the arm and leg that Carlisle still insisted on keeping in braces. "You sure you're up to this?"

I flexed my muscles, sure that they were sound. Still sore, it was true, but sound. "Smashed to a pulp last time or not," I said. "I'm not staying behind."

"Very well. Just . . . try not to get hurt again. Carlisle and Bella – not to mention Nessie – would never forgive me."

"Deal, Cullen."

We shook on it – brothers in arms, as we were always meant to be.

****

Bella's goodbye to me and Ness was tender, but short. I could feel the fighter in her, the enraged mother bear, just waiting to be cut loose on those who had dared to hurt her family. She squeezed both of us, then ran off with the rest of them into the forest. I waited 'til I could no longer hear them making their way through the trees – then I ripped off Dr. Cullen's leg-brace, grabbed Ness and stole Alice's Porsche.

Sam's pack had signed on to help the Cullen's break through the 10 or so Vampire scouts they'd spotted to the south; but my pack had been left behind to guard LaPush. Despite all the angst over breaking up the pack a year ago, it was really nice having my own big posse of bodyguard-babysitters for Ness when I needed it.

We pulled up to Sam's place, where I saw Seth and Emily waiting for me: Leah, Embry, and Quill were out on patrol, as had been requested. Renesmée looked at me dubiously.

"Why are we going to play with Uncle Seth?" She unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her Sleeping Beauty backpack from the floor. "It's almost bedtime . . . Are you leaving? Why do you have to leave? Will the Mean Ones come back? Does Daddy know I'm here?"

Darnit, the kid was getting smart.

"Yes, Ness, Daddy knows you're here, and he and mommy and Uncle Jacob trust Uncle Seth to keep you very safe."

She drew her knees up to her chest and just looked at me. She didn't even need to pout: she looked so much like the old Bella like that, so frail and scared and beautiful, that it was all I could do to shake my head.

"You'll be safe here, Ness. Seth is going to let you stay up past your bedtime, and Em said she'd help you color. Nothing can get you here, I pro-" But then I knew I couldn't promise. Not after last time. I sighed, and brought her over to sit on my lap.

"When you think of me, Ness, what do you think of?"

She knit her brow and thought very hard for a little while. Finally, she looked up at me, and said in a voice that sounded a little like Carlisle making a clinical pronouncement: "I think that you're my Jacob and . . . you're funny and let me play with you and . . . hunt with you and you're big and strong and . . . furry sometimes and make me feel safe when I'm scared. Like Daddy."

"Thank you, Renesmée. I always want to be that for you; I always want to have fun with you and hunt with you and make sure you're safe. And right now there are mean people who might try and hurt you again . . . and . . . and I couldn't be _your_ Jacob if I didn't try and stop them."

I let her try and think it out, hoping that I wasn't missing any good fighting. Of course, since Ness was there, I knew I wasn't missing anything _really, truly_ good.

She looked up at me again, eyes bright with some kind of revelation. "So," she asked, "stopping the Mean Ones is like . . . what the dictionary says you are?"

It was a funny way to put it, but I thought it worked. "Yes, Ness. Just like that."

"So . . . you _have _to go fight them, because if you stayed it would be like changing what it said about you in the dictionary?"  
"Yes."

She nodded her head, still frowning a little. "Okay," she whispered, putting her hand on my face to let me know what she really thought.

I saw myself, lying in bed, the first time Ness had been allowed to visit me after the last attack. I looked pale and broken, and now I could feel Renesmée's anger and anxiety at my condition.

_Not again, okay?_

"Okay, Ness. I'll be really, really careful."

_For me?_

"For you."

****

The battle was in full swing by the time I arrived – after dumping Alice's car in a Port Angeles parking garage, and praying for my own worthless life if it wasn't there when I got back. I phased while I was still about a mile away; Sam, of course, noted my presence.

"_What in the world, Jake? I thought you were still in traction?!"_

"_Looks can be deceiving, bud. Have I missed anything good?"_

"_We've taken down almost half of them, but there were more than we first thought: 15, instead of 10. Looks like maybe . . . Emmett could use some help, three have ganged up on him and he's farther off from the rest of us. Not that he'll want to take it."_

I hightailed it for Emmett Cullen's strong, musky scent. Sure enough, he was backed up against a huge redwood by three snarling "vampire-creeps," as I had come to call our long-haired friends. His grin was huge even in the thick of fighting for his life, though he did have several new scars on his arms and neck.

The creeps eventually sensed me, but not soon enough to prevent my lunging and ripping the head off of one before he could even scream. A second creep, who was busy gouging a chunk out of Emmett's shoulder, suddenly found Emmett freed up enough to elbow the creep deep into the redwood's trunk. The unfortunate vampire was decapitated by the Cullen family grizzly-bear before he could work himself free. Together we made short-work of the last one.

Emmett held out a fist, and I bumped it with my nose. "Good doggy," he said, laughing to himself; but I was already racing ahead looking for my next kill.

I found Bella, Edward, and Jasper together in a little clearing, facing off with two creeps. Bella didn't seem to be fighting: she stood off from the others with her eyes closed, concentrating very hard. Then I realized she was keeping a shield around Edward and Jasper as they fought, preventing the creeps from reading their minds, and - as I saw demonstrated just after I arrived – occasionally working up a physical barrier for one or both of the Cullen brothers. Edward turned briefly to wink at me, but they seemed to be holding their own, so I raced off to where I could hear my wolf-brothers fighting and cheerfully joined in the free-for-all.

After a few tussles I realized that Carlisle had been a _little_ bit right. I was sorer and stiffer than I'd reckoned – but it only slowed me down slightly, and I could tell Jared and Paul were happy to see me. We cleared our sector in a matter of minutes.

After that, there seemed to be little to do. The three of us pursued a runaway for a couple miles, taking him down with relish. If we made his death a little slower than needed, well, they did have it a long time coming.

The battle had been spread out over miles of terrain, so when we finally gathered back together it was nearing midnight. The Cullen's, all relatively unhurt, glowed like moons themselves under the full-moon's light. I stayed back with the pack as they greeted each other – not wanting them to notice the addition just yet – but Emmett blew my cover when Rosalie noted his wounds.

Before I could quite react, Rosalie's arms were around my neck. I had no idea what to do – her affectionate gratitude was completely unprecedented. "Jacob, I'll never be able to thank you for saving Emm's life. I'll try and make it up somehow, I promise."

I tried to shrug under her firm grip, but failed. All I could do was bark and hope she'd let go of me before her enthusiastic gratitude choked me to death.

When Rosalie finally did let go of me, it was Bella's turn: to hug me and then smack me firmly across the nose.

"What do you think you're doing, Mr. Black?" she demanded, hands on hips.

I looked at Edward, who laughed. "He says he's doing the same thing you are and could you please spare the drama for after we've wiped these creeps from the face of the earth? He's added some loud and rather graphic mental images to his statement, but I think they'd be impolite to repeat."

"And my _daughter _is . . . where?!"

"Safe in LaPush," said Edward, playfully putting his arms around his wife. "Speaking of which: thank you, Sam, again, and you guys better get back. There's a half-breed to be looked after." The wolves barked in affirmation, said goodbye to me in proper pack fashion, then ran off into the darkness.

Bella sighed and laid her head back on his shoulder. She looked up at him. "There's really nothing you guys are gonna let me do about this, is there?"

"Nope," said Edward.

"Men . . ." she muttered, but not unkindly. She looked at me again: "If you get yourself hurt again, I will personally make sure Emmett sits on you until you _fully_ recover!!"

"Don't worry, Bella," Edward was playing with her hair – they really could be sickeningly romantic sometimes – "Ness made him promise the same thing."

"Well," said Carlisle, who was dubiously examining Emmett's gouged neck, "since I have a feeling remonstrating with _any_ of you for medical reasons will be a losing battle – we'd better get going. Portland's still a ways off and we need to get there before dawn."

We ran in formation, with Edward, Emmett, and Jasper at the point of the spear. After two weeks in bed, the feel of the moss on my feet and wind past my ears was glorious. Knowing that we were going to end this menace one way or another was even better.

Peter and Charlotte met us on the outskirts of Portland, where I phased back into my human form. We figured we didn't need animal control trucks coming after us too. The two bloodsuckers kept their distance from me – I guess Jasper had let them know how utterly opposed to their lifestyle I was.

They lead us to the downtown office-building where the creeps had their hide-out about two hours before dawn. The streets were empty, and aside from the occasional homeless person, no one was around to wonder why what-looked-like nine Gucci models and a shirtless hoodlum were wandering around at 4 in the morning.

We stopped at a new-built building about 30-stories high. Sure enough, there was the sign I remembered: _Pattinson, Stewart, Rathbone & Sons._ "The top ten floors are empty, waiting for tenants" said Peter. "They're staying on twenty-four and twenty-five mostly. Alice is on twenty seven."

"You don't have to stay," said Jasper. "You got us this far, and it isn't really your fight."

"Nah," said Charlotte. "Any coven this big and this violent is dangerous for all of us in the long run. We're staying."

"Remember," said Carlisle. "We don't know how many of them there may be. If it looks like too many to defeat all at once, we grab Alice and run, alright?"

We all nodded. Jasper didn't waste any time after that. A second story window that opened on a side-alley was found to be open, and before any of us could really think to be scared, we were charging up the stairwell for the twenty-fourth floor.

I phased as we came through the door, where I counted five creeps waiting for us. But it wasn't them, or their greedy eyes or their snapping teeth that caused my heart to fall through my toes at that point. It was the four or five bodies – homeless men by the look of it – that they stood over. The overwhelming, and to my companions, enticing, smell of human blood washed over all of us.

****

_Author's Note: Yeah, I've basically decided that Jacob is the most fun to write. I promise this is the last cliff-hanger, guys. Next chapter's the last, and I guarantee Alice will make quite an exciting appearance._


	8. Blood at Sunrise

**Morning Mist 8: Blood at Sunrise**

**~~~~EDWARD CULLEN~~~~**

Never before had I been so thankful for the near-agony of Bella's mortal years. I had become accustomed, like Carlisle, to refusing the lust for blood that so often raged in the subconscious of our kind. The five drugged humans and the blood that flowed from their slashed wrists were little more than an unpleasant distraction for my father and I.

I could not, however, say the same for the rest of us. Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie were trying their very hardest to focus on the fight at hand - going for the throats of our five antagonists after only a few seconds hesitation, though I could tell their minds were only half as dedicated to the task as they needed to be. Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper, on the other hand, lost it almost immediately – they each fell on the victim nearest to them, opening themselves wide for attack. But worst of all was Bella.

She simply froze. I could tell she was consumed with three overwhelming and conflicting desires: to feed on the fresh blood that lay before her too-recently-newborn eyes, to run as far away from that act as possible, and to stay by my side and fight for our family. I knew at once that I could not at the same time protect her, protect my brother, and fight effectively. I too would have to make a choice.

But, truly, in my heart, the choice was simple. I stepped before her paralyzed form in a protective crouch, daring the nearest black-haired vampire to attack – which he did.

All around me was chaos: the shifting shades of battle, the smell of blood, the sound of friend and foe crying out in pain, the frenetic, desperate thoughts of my family, and the silent, blocked minds of my enemies. The five original villains were being reinforced from somewhere – there were definitely more than when we'd arrived. Peter was dead. Jasper and Rosalie were hurt. But before me I could afford to see only one thing: a growling animal that wanted to kill my wife.

Fighting, for me, had always been more like dancing. Each move had to be deliberate, planned, executed with perfect timing. I realized as this dance commenced that I probably relied too much on my extra-sense. Everything felt off – blocking and striking with no idea what my opponent's intentions were. It was a true dance with death: the other vampire had every advantage, and one misstep would cost my and Bella's lives. But the rhythm and steps that Jasper had taught me over the decades held true. The first misstep was my opponent's, and soon his head was rolling at my feet.

But there was no rest. It seemed the enemy's strength had doubled, while ours was already diminished. A quick glance around me showed Jacob fighting like a madman, making up for the fact that Peter lay dead over the body he had so helplessly gone to feed on and Jasper – though he had snapped himself out of the feeding frenzy – was practically disabled by a vicious slash to his side, a wound that would've cut a normal human nearly in half. But my family seemed to be doing better on the whole, and Charlotte was in a dangerous wrath over the loss of her mate. Our opponents attacked a little more carefully, disappointed that their grand distraction had only rid them of one of us.

Still, Bella was fairly useless and this time two of them came at me at once. For a few minutes I feared this fight would go the way our very first one had – except this time there was no wolf-pack to save us. One of them bent my bad arm back to give the other a chance to strike at my throat . . . but the sharp, brutal pain never came. The one who lunged at me was flung back, half-way across the room, and the one who held my arm also leaped back, as if he'd been stung by electricity. I looked behind me and there stood Bella, eyes closed, arms outstretched, face tight with concentration: she was projecting a shield around me, and it was growing steadily larger.

"Everyone – closer to me!" I yelled. "To me!" My next kick sent a confused creep flying out the window on the far side of the room. My family pulled back with Jacob, closer to the edge of Bella's still-widening shield . . . but Charlotte was in no condition to listen to anything but her own sorrow. Still half-mad with the smell of blood, she stood away from everyone else, her fury deadly to any who approached. But she stood alone, and could not sustain such an uneven fight for long. She was overwhelmed before our eyes. We could do nothing as she fell across the body of her mate.

But the other vampires had suffered too. There were only five left when they attempted to attack our group, only three once they realized – too late – that Bella's shield was functional. These took one look around at the room full of bodies and ran to the opposite stairwell, but we didn't pursue them. We knew we had to regroup first.

All of us but Carlisle drew back into the stairwell we'd come up, taking our first deep breaths as we left the torturous blood smell in the room behind us. Jasper threw himself on the floor, seething with both rage and sorrow. Bella buried herself in my arms, as Rosalie did the same with Emmett. Jacob sat and panted, trying to conceal just how ground-up his musculoskeletal system was still feeling – but, of course, he couldn't hide from me. Bella, I decided, didn't need to know . . .

"You saved our lives, Bella," I said.

"You saved mine," she whispered.

"We're going to have to be careful or this will become a habit."

She tried to smile, but couldn't really. Carlisle came in, looking grim. "They're dead," he said. "Bled out while we were fighting." He shook his head, but I could hear what he was thinking: _Such a damn waste. If we hadn't all rushed in like fools they might still be alive . . . 'Least they don't look like the kind of men with families to care for. Poor Jasper – Peter and Charlotte left in pieces like that. Speaking of . . ._

"Jasper," he said out-loud, "are you alright, son?"

"I'm fine," said Jasper through clenched teeth, but I could hear him too: _Hurts like hell . . . But I can move, so it doesn't effing matter. We have to MOVE before they do something to Alice!_

"They clearly out-numbered and out-maneuvered us," said Rosalie.

"Where the _hell_ are they all coming from?" moaned Jasper.

Jacob barked in frustrated agreement.

"Time for Plan B?" said Emmett, always the forward-thinking optimist.

"So long as we get Alice," said Esme, "I don't care if we have to move to Antarctica to get away from these monsters."

"I'd care . . ." I muttered.

"Right," said Carlisle. "We have to assume they've withdrawn to the twenty-seventh floor to guard their prisoner. Emmett, Edward, and I will lead the charge through the entrance in this stairwell, Esme, Rosalie and Jasper will go up the stair opposite and come at them from the other side of the room. Bella, stay with Edward and see if you can't achieve the shield affect again – at the least see if you can slow down their mind-reading work. Jacob . . . you can pick which group you want to go with. We fight only long enough to grab Alice and go."

Bella only squeezed my hand, but there was no time for any other kind of comfort or farewells. From three stories above us came a terrifying sound: Alice, screaming her head off.

Jasper and Jacob literally disappeared after the sound; and then we were running too, taking each flight of steps in one stride. Bella ran fierce and determined behind me, and I could sense her building up the concentration and strength needed for a shield once that last door opened.

Though it only took us seconds to reach the door, I could tell that the other group had beat us to it: Jasper's and Jacob's distinctive snarls already ripped through the air as I took the door off its hinges with my shoulder.

The room was emptier than I'd assumed. Perhaps, because they had always seemed so perpetually reinforced, I expected the room to hold dozens of them. But when we arrived there were only five left, fighting for _their _lives as they had forced us to fight for ours. For some reason I couldn't yet see, the smell of blood was as strong here as in the room we had just left – but we were too infuriated this time to let that drug affect us again. Jasper took out three of them before I could even lift a finger to help, and by the time Bella's shield was working, it was almost over. Emmett picked the last one up and snapped him in-half over his knee. Then it was quiet.

For a few milliseconds we were all still, listening and smelling for any hint of reinforcements. But none came. Our attention was immediately drawn to a cramped cage in the middle of the room, it's bars attached by wires to a battery that was clearly electrifying the metal at a very high amperage: sparks and arcs of electrical power sizzled over the cage's surface. Alice was huddled as far to the side of the cage as she could possibly get without shocking herself, and huddled in the opposite corner was a young, human girl, arms and legs covered in blood.

All but I, Carlisle, and Jacob instinctively recoiled from the temptation of the girl's scent, but only for a few seconds. Jasper held his breath, then flew to the cage and ripped the door open with one hand – getting a nasty shock for his trouble. Alice flew into his arms.

They held each other for a long time, whispering things that we all tried very hard not to hear. We stood around sheepishly for a few seconds, just happy to see them happy. But Carlisle couldn't shut the doctor side of himself off for very long.

"Jacob, Edward, I'll need your help with this poor thing . . ." he said, moving toward Alice's prison. I switched off the current as he reached into the cage and drew out the trembling girl, a street kid maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. Her arms and legs were covered in shallow but cruel slashes, some obviously weeks old, others – these ones deeper and more serious – quite fresh. She was shaking with terror, eyes wide – obviously on the edge of shock. Carlisle tried to calm her as he brought out the medical kit he'd carried with him on his back.

"Shhh . . . what's your name," he asked, laying her back against Jacob's warm hide. If she felt any aversion to the monstrous wolf that was curled up behind her, trying to look friendly, she didn't show it as her chilled body drew as near to his heat as possible.

"Emily," she whispered. "Those awful men lured me back here about two weeks ago . . ." Her thoughts had to fill in the rest of the story. _They said . . . they said I was her food._ She looked at Alice, and I instantly understood the torturous plan that the creeps had devised: to kidnap Alice, a "vegetarian" vampire, and then put her in such unbearably close proximity to a bleeding human being that she would have no choice but to give in to her primal and unthinkable desires.

"I don't know . . ." she continued as Carlisle and I carefully cleaned and bandaged the fresher wounds, "I don't know exactly what they were, or what she is . . ." Again, her thoughts completed the picture: _How could she . . .? Why didn't she . . .?_ I saw Alice and Emily, at close quarters in the tiny cage, Alice's eyes black with hunger even as she tried to comfort her fellow prisoner. I saw one of their captors grab Emily's arm and slash deep into the flesh, I saw Alice go rigid with temptation, then I saw her reach out and grab the bars of the cage, and I watched her body shake with pain – distracting her from her hunger. In Emily's memory, I watched this happen again and again.

I closed by eyes and tried to shut that image out of my head, but I couldn't. It was a very good thing the bastards were all dead, or I would've been tempted to get my hands on one and rip him into a thousand pieces as slowly and painfully as possible. I made a note never to tell Jasper if I could help it. Suddenly, a disturbing thought that I should've considered before leapt into my mind.

"Alice," I said, reluctantly disturbing her and Jasper's reverie, "there aren't any _more_ of those monsters out there?"

She looked up and smiled at me, though her eyes were still painfully black and her demeanor definitely tenser than usual. "No – you all got the last of him, I'm pretty sure."

"By _him_ you mean _them_, right?" asked Rosalie, confused.

"No," she said, drawing out of her embrace with Jasper and putting her hands on her hips. "I mean _him_. Don't tell me you all thought there were _actually_ two dozen of them?!"

"I'm . . . confused . . ." said Emmett.

Alice rolled her eyes and fluttered her hands at us. "I see I have a lot to explain. But I . . . I _really_ need to get out of here. Can we go home?"

Suddenly she tensed, and turned to glare at Jacob.

"Jacob Black," she hissed, _"What have you done with my car??!!!"_

Jasper, Alice, Jacob and Emmett had fun setting the upper floors of Pattinson, Stewart, Rathbone & Sons on fire, while Esme and Rosalie reported the "arson" to the police, and Carlisle, Bella and I took Emily to the hospital. By the time we left her with an ER nurse – whose inner grumblings about "_having to call in that damned social worker again_" I tried hard to ignore – she was fast asleep and, by the look of it, having peaceful dreams.

By sunrise we were all racing through the forest back to Forks – except for Jacob, who had been sent to retrieve the yellow Porsche on pain of death. We would've beat him home, but Alice kept stopping to eat any warm-blooded creature that crossed our path. It took her an elk, six squirrels and lynx before her eyes lost their starving, onyx glow. When we got back, Jacob was waiting for us, Renesmée holding one hand, the keys to the Porsche held out apologetically in the other. Alice ran up and snatched them.

"The smell better wash out of my baby, Jake, or you've had it," she said with a playful growl.

Renesmée ran to us as soon as she saw us. "Mommy! Daddy! Did you get the Mean Ones?"

"Yes, Ness – we got them," I said, swinging her up in my arms. "You'll never have to worry about them every again."

"Good." She looked at Bella. "Jacob says mommy saved everybody."

"She did," I said. "Your mommy is very brave as well as beautiful."

"Will you tell me the story before I go to bed?" She yawned and laid her head on my chest – which I thought was odd. It was morning after all. Then she put her hand on Bella's cheek, out of habit, and I saw a picture of her playing chess with Seth in Emily's living room. Nothing looked out of place until I noticed the clock over the fireplace: it read 4:00 AM.

Bella's eyes widened in motherly horror as she turned toward the porch.

"_Jaaaa-COB_!!"

Jacob's punishment for leaving our daughter with a teenager who let her stay up all night was that, while the rest of us gathered in the living room to hear Alice's tale, he was condemned to putting Renesmée to bed. Rosalie, at the least, didn't seem to miss him.

"Alright, Alice," said Emmett, sprawling over the couch, "what's the deal with saying that we've only been fighting one vampire this entire time?"

Alice, sitting at Jasper's feet, painting her – in her words – "pitifully neglected" toenails, sighed and leaned back against Jasper's knees.

"You don't mean to tell me that you didn't notice they all looked alike?"

"Well, of course we did," said Carlisle, "but how could . . . A vampire couldn't . . . clone himself, could he?"

"Not in the _scientific_ sense, good doctor," she teased. "But what do we know about our kind? Certain of us are capable of near about anything."

"So," I said, drawing Bella in closer to my side at the very thought, "this thing could create . . . duplicates of itself?"

"Basically, yes. He could create about 20 at a time, all of which could share his other power – you know, co-opting other vampire's gifts – and which could reason for themselves based on his thought-commands. But it was a fairly unstable process: after about 24 hours the clones would crumble back into dust, and, of course, none of them could actually talk."

"But still," said Esme, "just imagine what could have happened if the Volturi had gotten a hold of him . . . or worse, he had decided to fight the Volturi!"

"I could see the last happening," muttered Alice, concentrating on getting the pink paint perfect on her little toe. "And he really might've stood a chance – he didn't seem to like any other vampires much at all."

"Was he just some kind of megalomaniac?" asked Carlisle. "Couldn't handle having another rival coven so close?"

"Maybe . . . but I sometimes wondered whether it went deeper than that. You noticed how he looked Native American, right?"

"I did," said Bella. "I thought . . . I thought he looked like what Jake might look like if someone . . . turned him."

"I really think he might've been a Quileute, turned back in the days when that tribe first became shape-shifters. He retained a hatred for all other vampires, even though he was one himself."

"He utilized the Third-Wife strategy well enough," said Bella, shuddering.

"Well, he sure was crazy-miserable to hang out with for two weeks," said Alice, screwing the lid back on her polish with one flip of her fingers. "Unlike Carlisle, he never questioned the necessity of taking human life - but he still, like a good Quileute, hated himself for doing it all along. Maybe when he found out about us – who had managed to transcend our natures and resist what he couldn't – he snapped. Just wanted to be rid of us. No way to be sure."

"Poor thing," said Esme, only to be met with incredulous stares by the rest of us.

"You all were _brilliant,_ by the way," said Alice. "When I first knew his plan, of course, you guys knew nothing about it, so all I could see was him wiping all of you out. But my sight's always been pretty awful at factoring in the werewolves. They hit him out of _no where_, to my great delight."

"But," said Jasper, "this has been bothering me for a while now: how come you didn't see it coming weeks ago, when you and I were both together and could've done something about it?"

"Yeah . . . I'm sorry about that," she said. "Another thing my sight can't see is, you know, the clones . . . since they're technically just a shadow of their maker. I'd been having bad dreams about you all jumping around in the forest . . . fighting air. I just figured they were dreams. My bad."

I could see her mind, however, and couldn't let her feel too guilty. "But that also helped us, in the long run," I said. "Since, using you, he couldn't see his clones or the werewolves, it made the whole thing much harder to plan than he'd anticipated."

"Yeah," said Alice, "he was pretty ticked. After you all beat off his first attack – that's when he brought in poor little Emily and threw her in there with me." She put her head in her hands, trying to shut out the memories. "I'm sooooo glad I didn't eat her!"

"So, we're sure he's gone, then?" asked Bella, watching out the window as Jacob came back from our cottage.

"Yes. I was careful to note which one was, you know, the real one. He was one of the first to get killed when Jasper burst in to save me."

"Well," said Emmett, raising a fist in the air, "here's to kicking crack-head-vampire-clone-ass, to surviving, and to the Portland Police, who now have five unsolved murders and an expensive arson case on their hands."

"And to Emily," said Alice, "who was nice to me even when I felt like eating her."

Carlisle looked over at Esme, who nodded back. "We'll see what we can do for the police and the girl," he said. "We owe it to them, after all."

I smiled at this generous thoughts. After all, when Carlisle meant to be charitable, he _really_ meant it.

After finally sending Jacob home with a grateful embrace and strict doctor's orders to "_rest up for goodness sake,_" Bella and I walked back to our cottage holding hands. The minute we walked inside, we could smell Jacob's faint scent and hear our daughter's heart beating in the next room, her breathing steady, her dreams deep. Everything was right again.

Bella reached up and kissed me gently, then more passionately, pushing me up against the wall, letting her hands wander through my hair and over my chest, as mine did the same over her. Finally she pulled away. "You _do_ realize what today is, O Forgetful One?"

"How could I forget? I'm sorry we're not in Alaska enjoying the walrus . . ." I ran finger over her face – an outline I could never tire of tracing.

"It's alright . . . I prefer all of us together and alive to the Yukon, now that I think about it."

"Did you get me an anniversary gift?" I asked, playing with a strand of her hair and pretending to pout.

"What?" she said playfully. "You mean I'm not enough for you?"  
"Silly. You're more than enough: you're too much. Everyday it seems that if I loved you more, I would explode, and yet every morning, when the sun comes through our windows and glows on your hair, my love grows. It's filled me up again and again, and still, it seems, I have room for more. You're _that_ amazing."

"Well, there it goes," she said, "you've already stolen the eloquent speech I was going to say. I'd better just show you your gift . . ."

She pulled an envelope out of, it seemed, thin-air and handed it to me. Opening it, I saw several different types of tickets and a printed itinerary. I raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"The Paris Symphony is performing a _Nuit de Debussey_ next month. We're going to be there . . . and if any wacky vampire-clones show up to stop us, they'll have _me_ to deal with! See – now I can buy you outrageously expensive gifts too."

I laughed, and drew out my own gift. She looked at the box a little dubiously. "What, _more_ family-jewels?"

"Just open it!"

When she did, she smiled. Inside was a scrapbook that I had painstakingly worked with Esme on for over a year. It held pictures, alongside poems and reflections, for almost every single day of our courtship and our first year together.

"Not that vampires ever really need to be reminded of anything," I said, "but this year has been so utterly precious to me – I wanted to set it in stone."

"How in the _world_ did you get all these pictures . . . was this taken with a telescopic lens?!"

I chuckled. "Alice is a good spy."

She grabbed me around the neck and we were kissing again.

"This year has been . . . absolutely . . . perfect," she said, between lip-locks.

"Even after being chased, and threatened, and ripped up by two separate crowds of vampires?"

"Edward, you're my sun now," she said, "you burn away the thickest mist and cloud. Looking at you blots out everything else."

As we embraced, I knew it was true – and always would be.

**THE END**

_**Author's Note: **_**Thanks for hanging in there, guys! It's been real fun writing this, and I hope it was able to, in some small way, expand and extend the Twilight world that all of us have come to love so much :-)**** Have fun at the movies on Friday!! **

**P.P.S. _Informal Reader's Poll: _Would things be better/do y'all think more people would read this, if I took out the language and rated it PG instead? Just wondering if its worth it.**


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